Honestly Windows 8 could come out and be the greatest thing since sliced bread and I stii wouldn't care about it. I am thrilled with Win7 and plan on holding onto it for a VERY long time to come.

The only thing I can see Win8 doing is forcing more businesses to adopt Win7. Nobody wants to be 2 generations behind - but businesses aren't really in the habit of experimenting with the newest shiny things. Boring, proven and reliable is much more appealing.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Mahatma Gandhi

avianflu wrote on Jul 18, 2012, 15:51:For non-touchscreen users, windows 8 actually add more clicks to do normal things. Your only real alternative is to use keyboard shortcuts.

The writer of the editorial has no idea what he is talking about.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

The only major thing that adds clicks for normal users is when they search for settings (something Edna in accounting does 400 times a day) or files.

I'd actually dispute the file search because every normal person I know looks for files in the explorer because that's where files reside in their logic. Also the current start menu search sucks for files anyway because the 5 hits it shows are generally not enough and the additional work for the superior search in the explorer is marginal.

That said the new file search sucks just as much because of its lack of contextual actions.

If your whole hatred of windows 8 is based on the additional click required for searching the control panel (if you don't know the keyboard shortcut) and the continued suckage of a stupid way to look for files then you are just a trolling luddite.

Honestly, call it irrelevant all you want. I don't know if even at $40 the advantages are worth it -I might upgrade one PC but certainly not all- but this hatred is ridiculous.

Kitkoan wrote on Jul 18, 2012, 21:27:Yearly or biyearly OS upgrades is what people are putting their money to work for, then that is what the public really wants. And that is what Microsoft is trying to do here.

Let's see how Win 8 does then...I have no interest in updating my OS every year. To me an OS is like the tires on my car, it gets me where I want to go and should have good performance. But I have no interest in using it for anything other than getting me where I'm going.

Darks wrote on Jul 18, 2012, 15:54:This is where Microsoft is failing, they really need to listen to the customers and stop and think that releasing a new OS should only come about every 5 to 6 years. Plus, they are trying to wow people wit the touch feely look of it and that is not working for a standard desktop platform.

They are doing what your suggesting though, they are listening to the customers and the press. Name an OS that is that isn't released every year or two the people talk about that isn't Windows. Linux/Ubuntu? Every 18 months. iOS? Yearly. Android? Yearly. OSX? Getting shorter between releases, it's now almost yearly I think. These OS's get a lot of attention in the media and for the reason that they are updated so often. And they are being used more at the expensive of Windows.

By updating so often other OS's get a lot of media attention/free marketing as well as getting to be viewed as being more "modern" with each OS number. It doesn't matter to the public that most OS upgrades are quite minor, because look its the newest version and that means it's newer and must be better.

Windows is the only well used OS that doesn't do this and for that they are being viewed as more of a dinosaur even though they are very innovative with things like making motion control sensors, creating both the first mobile OS designed for non-stylus touch and now a full traditional OS (and for creating an OS that was made for multi touch, the Surface), the first in car voice controlled system, etc... So now Microsoft is listening to the paying public. Yearly or biyearly OS upgrades is what people are putting their money to work for, then that is what the public really wants. And that is what Microsoft is trying to do here.

Hopefully companies will hold off on making Windows 8 mandatory for new pc purchases. I'm begging my boss for the funds for new computers for some of the staff (currently running ancient P4's) and I would vastly prefer they come with 7.

Microsoft just does not understand how the user thinks or feels. Or for that matter how smaller companies and larger companies in general think. Microsoft needs to take a few steps back and look at the bigger picture. I seriously doubt they have talked to businesses in general to see how they budget for upgrading their operating systems.

My company for example will not upgrade to this OS. The reason being is cost. We as a whole have over the past 6 months started upgrading to windows 7. No company is willing to dump a bunch of money into a new OS they just upgraded to in the first place, windows 7 being the example. Compatibility issues are a big reason. Most companies are not willing to jump in and buy a new OS until it’s been on the market at least two years when drivers are available and third party applications are compatible with the OS.

This is where Microsoft is failing, they really need to listen to the customers and stop and think that releasing a new OS should only come about every 5 to 6 years. Plus, they are trying to wow people wit the touch feely look of it and that is not working for a standard desktop platform.

I already dropped a comment on the article itself but anyway. Like many professional users, I don't really use the Start Menu for much, mainly just the Search box. Somehow though they managed to neuter the hell out of that. Metro search is fucking awful, forced categorization of search results was a bad idea and your contextual actions are all limited as well which was another poor decision. Also I really dislike the way Metro apps are managed and speaking more broadly I really hate hot corners, there's a reason they died as a GUI concept awhile ago.

I could care less about dynamic tiles and whatever other nonsense Microsoft is trying to introduce to justify a completely unnecessary upgrade this soon. Don't hurt traditional functionality though, it makes no sense and this imaginary tablet user base is a really poor reason for doing so.

I bitched and moaned when they added the start button. Now I'm bitching and moaning that they want to remove it. My coworker (a sysadmin) likes the new interface. I mock him endlessly despite not trying it.